Poland - ESS Audio, TJT Music and Master-Ton recently deployed a complete Harman Professional Solutions live sound reinforcement system at the fifth annual Psalms of David Festival.
Held in September 2020 in the small Polish town of Kolbuszowa, the fifth annual Psalms of David Festival was a celebration of Jewish and Christian scriptures set to a soundtrack of live orchestral music. The open-air event, which was hosted at Kolbuszowa’s sports stadium, saw performances from Poland’s largest youth symphony orchestra, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, as well as dozens of individual performers and soloists.
To ensure every note rang clear among the audience at the event, which had to adhere to COVID-19 social distancing rules, the organisers needed an appropriate cound system. To accomplish their goal, they hired ESS Audio to design and deploy a powerful Harman sound re

UK - Emma Dalesman is a London-based freelance director of photography. A graduate of the National Film and Television School, she shoots a range of projects encompassing fiction, documentary, art films and commercials. In July 2020, following a quiet period on the work front due to the Coronavirus-enforced shutdown, Emma received a call from producer Derek Richards about a potential job.
The contemporary dance company, Rambert, had decided to turn their upcoming creation by Belgian choreographer/director Wim Vandekeybus into a live broadcast performance which could be enjoyed in real time by audiences around the world. Draw From Within would be a significant departure from Rambert’s customary working methods - conceived for the medium of film for an online audience.
Following a remote interview with Wim and Derek, Emma secured the job and, after a COVID-19 te

South Korea - A wide range of PMC professional studio monitors have been installed at Busan Sound Stage, a new audio post-production facility in South Korea that has been established to help the region develop its film industry.
Located in Busan City’s Haeundae-gu area, the new facility is owned and operated by the Busan Film Commission and has five studios including a Dolby Atmos ADR/Re-recording room that is equipped with PMC system comprising twotwo.8, result6 and twotwo sub2 monitors. Three of the four remaining rooms, which are dedicated to foley, editing, mastering and education, also feature PMC result6 and twotwo sub2 monitors, all supplied by PMC’s South Korean distributor Music Metro.
“PMC monitors were chosen for this facility because they offer very high resolution audio that allows us to hear elaborate sound in perfect clarity,” says Brandon Han,

USA - Teen Vogue model turned singer/songwriter Charlotte Lawrence recently completed a four-video recording session at Beehive Studios in LA that included her national TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and a subsequent appearance on The Late Show With Steven Colbert. Helping Julien Reux to create the right mood for the performances were 28 Chauvet Professional STRIKE 1 fixtures supplied by PRG.
“When producer Jonny Stiegler, the co-founder of Beehive, asked me to light these videos, I spent time studying the artwork on Charlotte’s new album as well as the wardrobe designs she’s been involved in,” said Reux, the owner of ReuxLight. “I wanted my design to reflect the hip, modern, western vibe of her style as well as the emotional force of her music.”
The design Reux created also had to be flexible enough to convey different looks for each of the s

Australia - Twenty four Astera AX1 Tubes were utilised by lighting designer Michael Negrao from event technical specialist Scene Change in Brisbane at the Australian launch event for the new Lamborghini Huracán STO (Super Trofeo Omologata).
Staged at Lamborghini’s Brisbane dealership in Fortitude Valley, the Huracán STO, designed for ‘ultimate driving fun on track and road’, was the centre of attention.
Michael received a “high-level” brief from his client relating to the mood and ambience they wanted to achieve inside and out of the premises, which was added to a budget and Michael’s fund of experience in lighting automotive events giving a free rein in designing what he felt appropriate.
Twelve vertical Astera AX1s were positioned around the car park on stands at the corners of each car space; another six were under the Huracán STO itself in the

Finland - Audico Systems has installed 281 of Elation Professional’s Fuze Pendant LED downlights in Finland’s Tampere Hall. Located 180km north of Helsinki, Tampere Hall is home to the Tampere Opera and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and is the largest concert and congress centre in the Nordic countries.
The impetus for the house lighting upgrade stemmed from EU regulations that will effectively end the use of certain halogen bulbs, coupled with the fact that the venue’s old house lighting system was nearing the end of its lifetime. The project commenced in 2018 with Audico, Elation’s Finnish partner based just west of Helsinki, conducting product demos of various house lighting fixtures, including the Fuze Pendant.
“The venue required good quality white light with high colour rendering and also highly saturated colours for effects. The fixtures also ha

Japan - The May Theatre, also known as the Suita City Cultural Hall, in Osaka is a venerable performing centre that has been on the Sound Engineers & Artists Society of Japan’s list of the Top 100 Best Halls by Acousticians, since it was opened in 1985. The cultural centre includes a 1,400-seat large performance hall, a medium sized hall, a reception hall and an exhibition space. The multi-faceted venue hosts concerts, operas and classical Japanese theatre, as well as social gatherings and art exhibitions.
In July 2019, the May Theatre began a thorough renovation project, including an update to the point source sound system in the large performance hall, which was well over 20 years old. “The previous point source speakers were placed inside a speaker box, which made it impossible to deliver uniform sound quality throughout the auditorium, explains Satoshi Tanio, so

Italy - The 2021 Sanremo Music Festival was staged at Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria and apart from being one of the country’s biggest and best-known song competitions and media events, also chose the country’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organised and broadcast by RAI and lit by director of photography (DOP) Mario Catapano.
The lighting rig included over 400 Robe moving lights - a mix of T1 Profiles, Spiiders, LEDBeam 150s, Pointes and a six-way RoboSpot system - all supplied by Pesaro-based rental company Sound d-light Srl.
For the first time, the competition, which unfolded over five evenings of live television, also broadcast worldwide, and streamed via the official ESC website, was hosted without a live audience due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The contest comprised two main sections - one featuring 26 established artists, plus a Newc

South Korea - Looking to add improved sound to its sermons and special events, Dongil Church hired TechDataPS Co to design and install a Harman Professional audio solution throughout the property.
Originally located in Dangjin, Chungcheong-do, Dongil Church was established in 1996. In 2020, the church relocated and built a new 600-seat temple in Dongdaesin-dong, which is in the Seo-gu district of Busan. In addition to offering sermons and contributing to the development of the community in various ways, the church helps pastors of the Protestant church become missionaries in India.
Wanting to bolster its facility and offer guests enhanced experiences during services and events, Dongil required a new audio system that delivers quality sound and speech intelligibility. Meeting those acoustical requirements, TechDataPS equipped Dongil with a Harman Professional audio solu

USA - Creating a more camera-friendly stage became a pressing need for many churches during the pandemic, as they turned to livestream services to reach worshippers during lockdowns. Marysville Christian Fellowship was no exception to this rule.
This dynamic, small church, which serves a rural community in northeast Kansas, also shared something else in common with many other houses of worship: it had only a limited budget to devote to making its space more well-suited for broadcasting services.
Marysville Christian was able to navigate its way through this issue with help from Stark Raving Solutions, which recently completed a lighting and video upgrade at the church. Taking a holistic approach to this project, the Lenexa, Kansas based company provide a comprehensive solution that involved far more than the installation of new gear.
“We did a lot of upgrading

Finland - Ilmatar Windpower is dedicated to the supply of clean and affordable wind power as part of the drive to transition to renewable energy sources. The company has recently made their own transition to new headquarters in Helsinki, designed according to sustainable practices with the aim of achieving optimum efficiency and wellbeing. AV solutions experts 4Business Oy were called in to design and implement all the AV technologies for the new premises, which included a Smart IP audio solution from Genelec.
One of the biggest issues to be addressed from an audio point of view was auditory comfort in Ilmatar’s open workspaces - an integral part of any modern, activity-based office today. However, one of the inherent problems of any open plan workspace is a lack of privacy and disruptive noise coming from elsewhere in the environment. Ilmatar was determined to create the

UK - Creative Technology supported the live broadcast of a ‘secret’ event from one of the UK’s leading motor racing circuits.
The event would be streamed to a small number of top clients for the manufacturer, with security of the broadcast being of utmost importance. CT proposed the use of its Eden platform which enabled two-factor authentication for the invited attendees to maintain a high level of security, ensuring confidentiality of the product. CT were on hand to collaborate with the end client’s IT department and Sprout, throughout the production process, to ensure that all protocols were observed and minimise any issues on the day for the invited audience.
CT’s involvement with the project further extended into the ‘live’ environment following Sprout’s decision to broadcast the event on-demand over the weekend of 13-14 March.
The on-site e

USA - When the Seattle Symphony orchestra wanted to explore the realms of music through audio and visual representation, they envisioned creation of a space that would immerse the audience into ‘a music experience unlike any other’.
The Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Centre is named after Seattle philanthropists James and Sherry Raisbeck, who donated $2m on top of the various public and private donations to transform the former Soundbridge Seattle Symphony Music Discovery Centre into a musical experience to remember. Fusing music and technology, Octave 9 was designed to stretch the boundaries of creative possibility and immerse the viewer in new worlds created with the orchestra’s music.
With this in mind, the technology implemented in this immersive space needed to be fully adaptable to match the variety of genres and eras recreated by the orchestra, and able to chan

UAE - Bla Bla Dubai - which boasts 20 Bars, three Restaurants, and a Beach Club all in one venue - was created to offer a full day-to-night experience for visitors, all with views of Bluewaters Island and Ain Dubai, the world’s largest observation wheel.
Located at The Beach opposite JBR, Bla Bla Dubai is set to be at the forefront of the city’s bustling social scene, and as a result every area of the venue required an audio system to match - or even exceed - the region’s high standards.
Pulse Middle East was trusted with the job of integrating this system after Bla Bla Dubai’s management was impressed by Pulse’s extensive portfolio of work with other venues across the city including Nikki Beach Club, White Beach at Atlantis, LSB, Brass Monkey, and Wavehouse.
Pulse opted for a complex three-zone audio configuration driven by Powersoft amplifier platfo

USA - Now in its ninth season, the Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family showcases crafting, cooking, home improvement, car repair, and all things DIY. Multiple cast members interact with celebrity guests throughout the many rooms of a full-sized house set.
This makes the need for many wireless channels and glitch-free reception a top priority, which is why the show recently upgraded to Lectrosonics all-digital D Squared wireless mic system. It comprises four DSQD four-channel receivers, 16 DBu belt-pack transmitters, a DHu handheld mic, and six ALP690 high-performance antennas.
“We had been using three Lectrosonics Venue racks and SM-series transmitters since the show started in 2012,” says audio supervisor Mike Dooley, whose CV includes The Biggest Loser and The Price Is Right. “I loved how well supported they were. But when we changed re

USA - Gerry Dintelman recently lit I Watched Music On The Internet, a four-part six-hour livestream marathon featuring 11 different bands shot in St Louis.
Dintelman created a design that gave each band a different look. He accomplished this with help from a large collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures that included Nexus 4 x 4 and NXT-1 panels along with Rogue R2 Beam and R2 Wash moving fixtures, all supplied by Arch City Audio Visual Services.
“This series was created by Arch City and the Sinkhole a local live music venue, as a means of showcasing different bands during the pandemic,” says Dintelman. “My co-designer Kevin Kwater and I knew that we would have to create a variety of looks to reflect each band’s personality. Since the videos were shot at the live stream space Arch City created in its warehouse early in the pandemic, we had a lot of f

Germany - L'Osteria is a branded gastronomy company founded in 1999 with over 130 locations in eight European countries. The operation is based on a three-pillar principle: company-owned restaurants managed by FR L'Osteria SE; joint ventures; and franchise restaurants.
According to their own statement, it is “a bit loud [and] lively” in the restaurants, which places high demands on the individual sound systems.
Audio installation company i:TECS from Dessau-Rosslau specialises in the gastronomy sector and undertakes all planning and design, based around high quality sound.
At L’Osteria they looked to the Martin Audio portfolio, distributed in Germany by Audio-Technica. “We were given the impression right from the start that special focus needed to be placed on premium quality sound,” says Thomas Neumann of i:TECS. "Great value is placed on the standard o

Vietnam - Vietnam's first ‘sleepless city' has officially opened on Phu Quoc Island, aiming to become an international destination. Phu Quoc United Centre, developed by Vingroup, took a total investment of $2.8bn and aims to attract visitors from all over the world.
Visitors will be able to enjoy multimedia shows, including the Vietnamese flowers, 32,000 bamboo tops, travelling the canals of Venice surrounded by coloured buildings that play homage to the Italian capital, among other attractions.
Prolights plays a part in the lighting design, with fixtures installed in the centre lake where the Venice canals are. Every night, the performance of Sac mau Venice (The colour of Venice) dazzles visitors with a light show. Vietnamese lighting designer Mr. Trong created all the looks, while Pro AVL, Prolights' distributor for the region, supported with t

Australia - Written by Australian playwright, screenwriter, and composer Yve Blake, Fangirls is a co-production with Belvoir, Queensland Theatre and Brisbane Festival, in association with Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP). It is the chronicle of 14-year-old Edna, a diehard fan of the world’s biggest boy band, True Direction.
Currently touring Australia, the multi award-winning musical recently played to full capacity audiences at Adelaide Events and Exhibition Centre’s Ridley Pavilion, as part of the Adelaide Festival. To deliver all the punch and clarity, music producer and sound designer David Muratore and sound designer Michael Waters had envisioned, Novatech supplied an L-Acoustics system for the festival dates.
While Fangirls creators Blake and Muratore, had spent five years developing the production with musical director and vocal arran

UK - After events for the London Climate Change Festival were postponed in 2020, the festival returned for 2021 with a televised broadcast. The specially created concert, titled Song For Nature, debuted on Sky Arts on Earth Day, 22 April. Paul Smith of Apex Acoustics provided audio equipment for the performance and mixed sound using a DiGiCo SD10 console.
“The concert grew organically into a much larger event with performances by Brian May, Rob Brydon, Nathan Evans, Kerry Ellis, Janie Dee and Wayne Sleep, and many more along with the ENO Orchestra and choir,” says Smith. “Brian May and Kerry Ellis were only confirmed a few days before the show.”
The concert was filmed over three days at an audience-absent London Coliseum, both on stage and in other areas of this storied London venue. The atmospheric theatre hosts the English National Opera as well as bei

Sri Lanka - Dynamic AV Technologies recently outfitted Ceylon Theatres Regal Cinema Dematagoda with a complete Harman Professional cinema audio solution to provide immersive sound quality for moviegoers.
Ceylon Theatres is a Sri Lankan theatre chain with an 85-year history that currently operates six locations throughout the country. The latest location is a three-screen facility in Dematagoda which also houses a KFC restaurant and Food City supermarket. In order to ensure an immersive cinematic experience with clear and balanced audio quality for moviegoers, Ceylon Theatres Regal Cinema Dematagoda required modern sound systems for all three screens. Ceylon Theatres hired Dynamic AV Technologies to equip each theatre with a complete Harman Professional cinema audio solution including JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers
“Working on a cinema project with Harman is ea

Germany - Over the past six months, two German production companies have been working together to simultaneously keep their creative juices flowing during the pandemic-inflicted hiatus on in-person events and lift the production value of livestreams.
The Wharf is the latest in a series of three increasingly ambitious dedicated livestream studios that they have created using primarily ADJ lighting and video equipment. This latest project combines a series of 3D cubes, lined with ADJ Pixie Strip pixel-mapped LED fixtures, and a water tank, illuminated by ADJ Hydro Series IP65-rated moving heads, to create a stunning visual backdrop for both DJ sets and full-on live performances to be captured on video.
LaserFrame, based in Cologne, and its owner Guido Schütz, specialises in lighting for clubs, lounges, and electronic music events. Meanwhile, Creative Sounds, from nearby

UK - Thirty-eight Robe MegaPointe moving lights were an integral part of the lighting rig used by LD Chris Kempton for the UK’s 2021 Comic Relief biennial Red Nose Day telethon event which harnessed the power and inspiration of humour to raise funds for good causes.
The event was staged in March at D Studio in the BBC Elstree complex in Hertfordshire, UK, and broadcast live on the BBC.
The telethon was hosted by Sir Lenny Henry alongside Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness, David Tennant and Alesha Dixon. It was the first Red Nose Day event to have a virtual audience - onscreen behind the presenters - due to COVID restrictions.
Lighting equipment was supplied by JLLighting Ltd., together with power distribution infrastructure and media servers to run all the playback visuals.
Chris has lit the show several times in the last few years, and this year he took

The Netherlands - Ayrton reports that its MiniPanel-FX, Huracán-X and Karif LED lighting fixtures will form a major part of the lighting design for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest which takes place at the Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Lighting designer Henk-Jan van Beek of Light-H-Art design has chosen significant numbers of each fixture for the main ambient and effects lighting for this annual music extravaganza. The full requirement of Ayrton fixtures - 386 in total - will be supplied by Eurovision 2021’s lighting, audio and rigging supplier, Ampco Flashlight.
The stage design for Eurovision 2021 by Florian Wieder is being kept under wraps for now, but those in the know at Ampco Flashlight have hinted at a wall of MiniPanel-FX which they describe on their Eurovision blog as ‘a cute little fixture that is fierce and powerful’ - and that’s ju

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